Parking utility gets 'smart' vehicles, cards

RED BANK - Three new electric parking utility vehicles are being lettered and should be on the road before the end of month, according to Sharon Lee, Borough Council president.

"We are excited to bring this program to the borough because it does the right thing for the environment and saves the taxpayers money," said Lee, who is a member of the council's Parking Utility Committee, Sept. 28.

Lee noted that the previous parking vehicles cost around $20,000 each, were gas driven, required a lot of maintenance and, thus, were expensive to maintain.

The new electric cars cost around $11,800, a savings on both the purchase and overhead costs like fuel and maintenance.

"All three cars will be clearly lettered so they can be easily identified as Parking Utility vehicles so that visitors can go to them for help with questions on parking regulations, available spaces, directions and anything to help make the visitors' experience more pleasant," said Lee.

The vehicles are designed to carry all the tools an employee might need to make repairs and replace defective meters to ensure the borough's meters are not out of operation for any length of time.

The three-member council Parking Utility Committee has taken a more hands-on approach with the department in working to create a more friendly and efficient parking utility, Lee added. "With the three of us attending more subcommittee meetings and by assigning day-to-day supervision of the utility to [Director of Public Utilities (DPU)] Gary Watson, we felt we could eliminate the previously full-time parking director's position. The net savings on that one move saved the taxpayers over $60,000 in salary and benefits."

The position of parking director, which was formerly held by Neil Burnip, was eliminated from the municipal budget this year. Burnip, who has been officially off the borough's payroll since before the end of 2006, filed a civil lawsuit against the borough of Red Bank seeking $11.5 million in damages last October claiming he was a victim of discrimination.

According to Assistant Borough Attorney Thomas Hall, the suit is being handled by the borough's labor attorney Jamie Plosia and is currently in the discovery phase.

Another initiative, according to Lee, was to introduce the use of parking "Smart Cards" as a way to address the issue of time running out by a few minutes and drivers returning to find a ticket on the windshield.

"Now, you can pay as you go and even get credit for the unused time back on the card," said Lee.

According to Watson, the Smart Cards can be obtained at the Parking Utility Office on the second floor of 90 Monmouth St., or through participating merchants located throughout the borough. For a listing of participating merchants, contact Red Bank River Center at (732) 842-4244. For more information on the Smart Card Program, contact Watson at (732) 345-8135.